36. Venice Canal Seventh Annual Twilight Bridge Lighting

If you are like me (and most likely you are not as I consider myself one-of-a-kind), you may have some confusion about the L.A. City known as Venice.  For years I have mistakenly referred to this city as Venice Beach.  Truth is in the same way Miramar Beach in Torrance is a Torrance beach, the beach in Venice, California is Venice Beach.

Later after noticing the use of Venice for locations in episodes of Showtime's Californication (the name of this show was inspiration for the name of this blog), which included walking along the Venice canal area, I thought I had an "aha" moment.  They named the city Venice because it had canals like the canals in another city named Venice located in Italy known for its Grand Canal.

Wrong!  Couldn't be more wronger.  Back around 1900 a fellow named Abbot Kinney owned a sizable portion of Venice.  To make way for residential development, he had several miles of canals dug to drain the then very marshy land of Venice.  The canals were utilitarian, but also an homage to Venice, Italy's Grand Canal.

Any hoo, walking the canal area of Venice, California is a lovely nature and architectural excursion with the bonus of exercise.  Let's hear it for exercise.  Whoo hoo! The main walkway is a little over a block east of Pacific Avenue and runs from Washington Boulevard north to South Venice Boulevard.

If you are looking for an excuse to visit, you may want to check out the Illuminate the Night - 7th Annual Twilight Bridge Lighting and Holiday Party happening Saturday, December 5th from 5 to 7 PM, 212 Sherman Canal.  Actual bridge lighting is scheduled for 6 PM.

The organizer of the event, Darryl du Fay, mentions the event is tied in with their desire to benefit Venice Community Housing Corporation, dedicated to perserving diversity in Venice for over 20 years.  If you attend the event, donations are accepted and genuinely appreciated.

Enjoy!